BB Cream

I wasn’t sure if I’d like the Shiseido Sports BB Broad Spectrum SPF50+Wetforce till I understood it better and now I’m in LOVE!

December 8, 2017 Paris B 12 Comments

It’s taken me a little while to understand the new Shiseido Sports BB Broad Spectrum SPF50+ Wetforce product. But when I did, I wondered why I was so bloody obtuse in the first place!

You’d think that it doesn’t take a genius to understand a tinted sunscreen. Hello. It exists and has existed for a while. What was so confusing about this one from Shiseido?

Well, for me, it was because this came to me, together with the new Shiseido Hydrofresh sunscreen. As they were both sunscreens, I treated this just as I would any other sunscreen. To be used liberally, and I did. But it bugged me. Used liberally, as I would a regular sunscreen, it was thick, and the tint was so fake and obvious. It was as if I’d caked on foundation. The formula was lovely, but it looked like I had too much makeup on.

In a way I had. But when I took a closer look at the product, suddenly, everything fell into place. Oh hello! The Shiseido BB For Sports SPF50+ PA++ Wetforce IS NOT A SUNSCREEN! DOH! 😛

Do I need a separate sunscreen or can I just use cushion foundation?

August 2, 2016 Paris B 26 Comments

You know what? You will not believe the number of times I’m asked this very question. Do I need a separate sunscreen or sunblock if my cushion foundation or foundation is already SPF50? Goodness peeps, please don’t fall for the damn makeup-as-skincare hype!

As much as I risk repeating myself, having written about this about 3 years ago (I foresaw problems LOL!) I thought a refresher course was in order.

Also, I recently did a little experiment (reluctantly) where for some reason, I ended up not carrying my usual skincare arsenal with me. I had some random bits and bobs of cleanser and moisturiser on hand but when I dug around desperately the next morning for sunscreen, I had none. No sunscreen! HORRORS!

I’m afraid to say that toiletries pouches aren’t a Mary Poppins magic bag of tricks 🙁 No matter how hard I rooted, I couldn’t unearth any sunscreen! I was very reluctant to head out anywhere without any sun protection so I did the next best thing – I used cushion foundation which had SPF50. How did that work?

4 Tips to get the most out of the Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint

May 9, 2016 Paris B 8 Comments

I must say that I rather like when a product calls itself a “skin tint”. That way, expectations are lowered. It’s just a tint after all. Tints are light and sheer and not expected to offer a lot of coverage. Often, they don’t.

So, I wasn’t expecting very much from the new NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint. There were a couple of reasons this was so.

First, the skin tint element. I like a light and sheer base which is useful for lazy and off-days, but if it’s too sheer, then, I don’t really see the point.

Secondly, the name “Velvet Matte” made me pause. I usually shy away from anything that proclaims itself to be matte on skin. This is because any product claiming to be matte and to give a matte effect is often drying on skin, or sucks out moisture from skin like a moisture-sucking vampire.

When I asked if this might be drying, I was told quite honestly by the brand that it could be, if you have dry skin and/or your skin has dry, flaky patches. But you can get around it by using a moisturising primer. Naturally therefore, I wanted to know if it might work for me, as I have slightly drier skin, and I hate using primer – too lazy for that extra step that I rarely find any use for LOL! 😀

So, with all these misgivings coursing through my mind, how did I like this?

The case for wearing a base – Wearing foundation and BB Cream can be good for your skin!

October 2, 2015 Paris B 28 Comments

A while ago, I shared a little discussive piece where I said that the idea that wearing makeup is bad for your skin is a fallacy. It is! It’s nothing to do with the makeup (unless of course, you use a product that is inherently bad or poisonous), but all to do with how you care for your skin after.

Well today, I’m going to propose the notion that wearing base makeup, at minimum, can be good for your skin. No really.

I’m going to tell you this. I never wore makeup or even foundation until I started my first job, in my 20’s. I started life in simpler times, not in the age of selfies and Instagram (thank goodness! LOL!) but even then, I was never very good about wearing base makeup. I just never found the right one as a lot of foundations back then were heavy or oily.

These days however, we are spoilt for choice. There are so many good quality base products out there, that it’s quite easy to find one that suits our skin and preference. And you know what? I’ve realised that wearing base makeup, be it BB creams or CC creams or foundations, can actually be good for our skin.

I know, you’re sitting there raising one brow at me and going “You have to be kidding!” Well, hear me out 🙂